Quote:
Originally Posted by csThor
There's now an offspring from the thread with the map discussion at sukhoi.ru and I find that one very interesting. Some of the opinions there match my own - maps are only large enough when the historically relevant bomber bases are on the map. On the CloD map 99% of the bomber bases are not on the map at all ... only Amiens - Glisy (Stab & I./KG 1), Montdidier (II./KG 1), Rosieres-en-Santerre (III./KG 1), Creil (II./KG 76), Beauvais-Tille (I./KG 76) and Cormeilles-en-Vexin (Stab & III./KG 76). There is, for example, not a single bomber base of Luftflotte 3 represented which - if we had a campaign engine - would seriously limit the campaign possibilities for a bomber pilot.
I know about the limited resources, but quite honestly with maps not encompassing the relevant bases for all types of aircraft (with the bombers having the ones farthest back) then the gameplay will always be rather limited even offline. 'cause if you don't have a base an offline campaign is pointless.  |
Well, I think the only way to get maps of that size is do a very crude auto generation - or have the community do them with an SDK that allows making large maps. Maybe that would be OK? Have the relevant parts of the map detailed and autogenerate the stuff in the peripheral parts that are mostly interesting for a very small group that like to take off from a bomber base hundreds of miles from the target and actually spend hours before getting there? I do realize that there are people that like this but they can't be many percent of the target audience to make this game profitable.
But it would be nice to please both the broad and the narrow users. But that would have to involve some autogeneration that off course would have threads with people crying about roads going over rivers with no bridge etc... Roads that where built in 1990 in the game etc... I think an auto generated map would have to use OpenStreetmap or similar to be economically possible. Maybe with manual deletion of major highways around cities etc that would be to hurting for the eyes
I really don't thing that the business model where the SDK only allows the making of small maps is a wise one... If you can only do maps with the available terrain and props, why not focus on releasing new game modes and features that gets packed in new "versions" that everyone wants to pay for, and let the community or third party build all the maps they can to expand the product?
And by the way as this is a theoretical discussion - any kind of SDK would be a boost for the product
EDIT - a crazy idea, make a web based GUI built on OpenStreetmap where users can add or remove roads etc like in the "real" OpenStreetmap and then have an engine that "bakes" the map into a CloD map
I have added a number of minor roads and paths into OpenStreetmap where I live and added a road into Google Maps too that was marked the wrong way... That way it would gradually get better and better and instead of whining about a missing bridge - people could add it themselves
Just dreaming... And then have monthly builds where the new stuff gets into the baseline map.